Vietnam’s top leader Lam will meet with Google, Meta in the US next week, sources say By Reuters

By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s president and ruling Communist Party chief To Lam is to meet representatives of several U.S. corporations, including Google (NASDAQ: ) and Meta, during a visit to the United States next week, they said two people briefed on the plans. Reuters.

Facebook’s Meta (NASDAQ: last month.

In his first trip to the United States since being appointed in early August as party chief, the most powerful job in the country, Lam is scheduled to meet with representatives of Google and Meta, the two people said, one noting each of the companies. would have a separate meeting with him. Neither said what will be discussed.

Two other people familiar with the plans said Lam will also attend a business forum with other US business representatives on September 23.

All four sources declined to be identified because the information was not public.

The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), which is one of the organizers of the September 23 event, declined to release a list of participants.

Google and Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.

In two major business missions to the US, the lobbying group USABC organized in Vietnam over the past 18 months, brought dozens of top American corporations, including defense firms, energy and technology companies.

Among the firms that participated in both recent missions to Vietnam are energy company AES (NYSE: ), aviation giant Boeing (NYSE: ), payments company Mastercard (NYSE: ) and Amazon (NASDAQ: ), including its cloud subsidiary Amazon Web Services computing, according to participant lists seen by Reuters.

American companies see Vietnam as a manufacturing center and a market for their products. Apple (NASDAQ: ) suppliers complete many of the company’s products there, Intel (NASDAQ: ) has a large chip assembly plant, and defense firms have long held talks to sell security equipment to Hanoi.

THE BIDEN MEETING?

Lam’s trip to the United States has not been officially announced, but officials said he will travel there on Saturday to speak at the United Nations General Assembly, where world leaders meet for their annual meeting on September 22-23. He will fly to Cuba later in the week on the last leg of his trip.

Columbia University has announced an event with Lam on September 23 in New York.

The US and Vietnam strengthened diplomatic ties last year as Washington sees the Southeast Asian nation as a strategic partner to reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturing. The US is also seeking closer ties with Hanoi in sensitive industries, including submarine cables.

However, it is unclear whether Lam will meet US President Joe Biden.

A White House spokesman declined to comment on Lam, but said Biden plans to meet with several foreign leaders at the United Nations.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry and the president’s office were not immediately available for comment.

Lam met Chinese President Xi Jinping last month in his first trip abroad since his appointment as party chief.

He is also planning a state visit to France in early October, an official told Reuters.